He also pleaded guilty to assisting others to travel to Pakistan for training in terrorism.

Judge Mr Justice Henriques said that ‘conservative estimates’ suggested the group had raised a total of £39,000 for their cause.

This is believed to include money stolen from Muslim Aid and the madrasa, Ahmed’s own money and other sources.

The court heard that Naseer claimed that ‘blowing yourself up with a rucksack bag is not such a hard thing to do’ and envisaged attacking synagogues in the UK or a ‘Mumbai-style attack’ with guns.

As part of the plot, the ringleaders sent four youngsters to Pakistan to train for terrorism in August 2011, the court heard.

Shahid Khan, 21, Khobaib Hussain, 21, Ishaaq Hussain, 21, and Naweed Ali, 25, all from the Sparkhill area, were sent in pairs from Birmingham International Airport on separate days.

They told their families they were travelling to attend a madrasa and were expected to return to the UK in October.

However, Khobaib Hussain, Ishaaq Hussain and Ali returned just three days later after a relative got wind of the sinister motives for their journey, with only Khan remaining abroad for the expected duration.

All four have pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts by travelling to Pakistan for training in terrorism.

Funding: Irfan Nasser, Rahin Ahmed and Irfan Khalid during a bogus charity collection to help pay for the attack

Bahader Ali and Rizwan were unsure whether to join the ‘ammal’ (action) against ‘infidels’ in the UK or fight abroad, the court heard.

They were instructed to practice ‘istikhara’, a prayer intended to help believers make a wise decision, and Bahader Ali and Mujahid Hussain were supplied with ideological material to convince them to join. As a result, Mujahid Hussain became actively involved as a fundraiser and ‘fully aware’ of the other plotters’ intentions, Mr Altman said.

'Blowing yourself up with a rucksack bag is not such a hard thing to do'

What Irfan Naseer allegedly claimed

Rizwan and Bahader Ali, both from Sparkbrook, both admitted engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism earlier this month. Mujahid Hussain, from Yardley, pleaded guilty to entering a funding arrangement for terrorism and possessing information about terror offences.

Bahader Ali eventually decided to go to Pakistan for training rather than take part in the planned attack in the UK, the court heard. ‘He was off to join the Foreign Legion, if I may put it that way, without knowing what demands were going to be made of him,’ Mr Justice Henriques said.

Mujahid Hussain, meanwhile, was fully aware that the group was ‘up to no good’ but did not have knowledge that an attack was being planned in the UK.

Jonathan Whitfield, for Naseer, asked for an extended sentence rather than a life sentence for his client. Mr Whitfield said in mitigation: ‘There are real issues as to whether this would have gone further than it actually did or indeed could have gone further than it did.

‘He has qualities about him which are sloppy and which suggest that this wasn’t going to go unmissed by the authorities. We respectfully submit that the court should guard against ignoring the difference between what he wanted to do and what he did do and could do.’

The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow, when Mr Justice Henriques will continue hearing mitigation for the defendants. The judge said he would not sentence the defendants until Friday morning.